Kawhi's family was the only reason he was going to leave, but I think he really likes it here.. well except for when Serge wraps his arms around him. Fuck off Serge!

We can't ignore all the good stuff that's happened between the Raps and Kawhi (and his camp) this year just because the Clippers made it to the playoffs. Uncle Dennis cozying up to the CargoJet CEO actually happened. We had that family portrait where his uncle was showing off his Raptor gear. The days off for load management, etc, etc.

I am all in on the "He Stay" camp. Even if the Raps can't get through round 1. It's not playoff success or bust for me anymore.

But, when he does sign with us, I suspect it'll be a 1+1 deal. Risky to sign over that when a big chunk of our team will be UFA's in 2020.

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Don't forget guys get comfortable in good situations. They're very much aware that "the grass isn't always greener on the other side"

It's not easy to be the new kid in school every single year. Kawhi with every day gets more used to the city, creates deeper bonds with teammates and staff, knows his way around the arena. These things matter. They're why the team you play for usually has to royally fuck shit up for guys to bolt.

For him it's like "Sure, the Clippers COULD be a good opportunity...but I've got proof in front of me that the Raptors ARE a good opportunity.."

Like it or not, Load Management is one of our strongest cards to play. I'm becoming more convinced that mistrust with the Spurs medical staff and Pop's agenda to win is what drove that wedge between Kawhi and San Antonio. Doc Rivers is a great coach, but he does drive his players pretty hard and his teams always seem to have guys injured.... but they win. Interesting perspective on load management, by Doc:

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Like it or not, Load Management is one of our strongest cards to play. I'm becoming more convinced that mistrust with the Spurs medical staff and Pop's agenda to win is what drove that wedge between Kawhi and San Antonio. Doc Rivers is a great coach, but he does drive his players pretty hard and his teams always seem to have guys injured.... but they win. Interesting perspective on load management, by Doc:

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I am really enjoying this Lakers self destruction tour. The Lakers landed LeBron a few years too late for him to carry them like he did for the Cavs. If they don't land a couple superstars this off-season I'm not sold on him winning anything. I think he needs to stop doing everything and instead decide whether he wants to be facilitator Magic Johnson type or a wing. He needs to change in order to let guys be able to help him in a cohesive, effective manner. I'm not sold on the Lakers getting it done this summer. I never thought I'd see the day but I like the Knicks chances at landing superstar free agents more than the Lakers right now.

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Going to the basement to see if I have any more tape.
Looks like I am going to have a bunch more to bind up the ankles of those jumping off the Raptors bandwagon after a loss to the Rockets.

You do like to measure how your doing / looking against the better teams in the NBA. While Houstons record isn't what it could be they have righted the ship .. got their injured players back and in a long 82 game season are playing really good ball now. They beat the Raps last night. Good for them. A big win for them.

But try not to forget the team that lost to Houston also blew the doors off of Philly and Boston in the last couple weeks as well as won a close one against a Portland team thats going to be top 4 out west..

I think I will get the 3 inch wide surgical tape as the calm and steady fanbase jumps on and off the bandwagon every couple of days or so.

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Going to the basement to see if I have any more tape.
Looks like I am going to have a bunch more to bind up the ankles of those jumping off the Raptors bandwagon after a loss to the Rockets.

You do like to measure how your doing / looking against the better teams in the NBA. While Houstons record isn't what it could be they have righted the ship .. got their injured players back and in a long 82 game season are playing really good ball now. They beat the Raps last night. Good for them. A big win for them.

But try not to forget the team that lost to Houston also blew the doors off of Philly and Boston in the last couple weeks as well as won a close one against a Portland team thats going to be top 4 out west..

I think I will get the 3 inch wide surgical tape as the calm and steady fanbase jumps on and off the bandwagon every couple of days or so.

Yeah there are always a few bandwagoners ready to jump ship at the first sign of trouble, nothing new there, but I think the majority of people on this forum are actually not in that group. What I see happening is mostly people pointing out some cracks on the ship that could/should be looked at, a prominent one being Nick Nurse and his ability to instill team rhythm and chemistry in time for the postseason. I think the Raps as a whole are looking pretty solid though, still feels like a fast car revving to me, just needs someone able to drive it.

2019 NBA Champions. Glad to have doubted the doubters.

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Yeah there are always a few bandwagoners ready to jump ship at the first sign of trouble, nothing new there, but I think the majority of people on this forum are actually not in that group. What I see happening is mostly people pointing out some cracks on the ship that could/should be looked at, a prominent one being Nick Nurse and his ability to instill team rhythm and chemistry in time for the postseason. I think the Raps as a whole are looking pretty solid though, still feels like a fast car revving to me, just needs someone able to drive it.

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With this team, when Kyle plays well which incudes hitting a decent percentage of 3's (and 2's), limits turnovers and does all the other parts of his game mentioned by Demographic Shift the Rapters win (game Detroit an anomaly and no Kawhi). If he shoots poorly and turns the ball over we generally lose. Our season and playoff success rests with #7 playing well offensively and defensively. He is also our MVP - Most Variable Player.